The International 2014 is Down to the Final Eight

After seven days of competition, the field has been cut in half. The International 2014 started with sixteen of the best Dota 2 teams in the world. After the first three phases of The International’s playoffs, the field has been whittled down to eight teams all vying for a near $5 million championship prize.

Team Liquid was the last qualifier for The International but didn’t play like a 16th seed on Day One of the Round Robin as they ended the opening day tied for 2nd place. They didn’t last long their as they fell to 7th by the end of the Round Robin and were eliminated in the first round of Phase Three which resulted in a 9th/10th place prize of $48,000.

TL didn’t have the worst final three days in the Round Robin. Na’Vi North America was also tied for 2nd after Day One but fell to 15th by the end which left them out of the money. The big disappointment was defending champion Alliance. They went from the 2013 International champions and winning $1.4 million to finishing 12th and earning $37,600. It was a competitive year since The International 2013 but a disappointing finish in the most important tournament of all.

At the top of the Round Robin were Vici Gaming and Evil Geniuses who scored perfect 4-0 days on Day Two and Day Three, respectively. As such, they earned byes to the Winner’s Bracket semi-finals and are guaranteed top six finishes worth at least $645,000.

There was also a three-way 9th and 10th place playoff after the Round Robin that saw a 5-1 final two days by Mousesports be for naught as they lost to Newbee and LGD. Both those teams went on to qualify for the main event with wins over Titan and Team Liquid, respectively.

LGD lost to Cloud 9 in their next match who subsequently lost to 3rd place Team DK who move on to the Winner’s Bracket. In the other Phase Three bracket. Newbee went on the run of a lifetime. After taking down Titan 2-1, they swept past champion Na’Vi and beat The International 2012 champ Invictus Gaming in an epic deciding third game of their set.

The main event playoffs begin on Friday (July 18) at Key Arena in Seattle. Friday’s action is the Winner’s Bracket with the last team standing going straight to the Grand Finals for their chance at nearly $5 million. Vici Gaming will face Phase Three darling Newbee while American best hope Evil Geniuses does battle with DK.

Saturday and Sunday will see Lower Bracket competition starting with Cloud 9 vs. Na’Vi and Invictus Gaming against LGD. The winners of those games take on the losers of the Winner’s Bracket semi-finals in the next round. When one of those teams are left standing, they take on the Winner’s Bracket final loser in the Lower Bracket Final for a trip to the Grand Final.

As of writing, the prize pool was just over $10.75 million. While the grand prize of the first two Internationals was $1 million, the third place prize will be over $1 million. That’s not a bad consolation prize.

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About Steve Murray

Steve is the founder and editor of The Lowdown Blog and et geekera. On The Lowdown Blog, he often writes about motorsports, hockey, politics and pop culture. Over on et geekera, Steve writes about geek interests and lifestyle.
Steve is on Twitter at @TheSteveMurray.